Post-hole auger.



G. M. PENN. POST HOLE AUGER. nrmouron FILED mm: 19,1909.

Patented Sept 28, 1909.

GEORGE M. FENN, OF CHARLOTTE, MICHIGAN.

POST-HOLE AUGER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 28, 1909.

Application filed June 19, 1909. Serial No. 503,211.

all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE M. F ENN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Charlotte, in the county of Eaton and State of Michigan,have invented a new and useful Post-Hole Auger, of which the followingis a specification.

The objects of the invention are, generally, the provision, in amerchant-able form, of a device of the class above mentioned, i whichshall be inexpensive to manufacture, facile in operation, and devoid ofcomplicated parts; specifically, the provision of an auger, includingcutting blades of novel and improved form; of novel means for assemblingthe said blades with a shank by which they are rotated; and of novelmeans for adjusting the said blades; other and further the descriptionof the invention progresses.

The invention consists in the novel con- 1 struction and arrangement ofparts herein- 1 after described, delineated in the accompanyingdrawings, and particularly pointed 1 out in that portion of thisinstrument where- 1 in patentable novelty is claimed for certain jdistinctive and peculiar features of the dei vice, it being understoodthat, within the scope of what hereinafter thus is claimed diverschanges in the form, proportions size, and minor details of thestructure may be made, without departing from the spir' or sacrificingany of the advantages of the invention.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to denote corresponding partsthroughout the several figures of the drawings.

In the accompanying drawings :Figure 1 shows the invention in sideelevation; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device, showing the same atright angles to the position delineated in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is atransverse section taken on the line AB, the section being applicableequally, to Fig. 1 or Fig. 2; Fig. 4. is a detail perspective of thewedge shaped loop whereby the blades are adjusted.

In carrying out my invention, I provide, primarily, a pair of bladeswhich are de noted by the numeral 1. These blades are trough-shaped, andconvexed oppositely from each other. The lower ends of the trough areclosed by terminal walls 2. These terminal walls 2 are not disposed inplanes normal to the axis of the device, but, as shown in Fig. 2, anddenoted by the nuing tips 1.

meral 3, are upwardly inclined toward opposite sides of the device, tofashion, at the extremities of the blades, non-alining, dependblades 1are upwardly inclined in their 1 longer dimension, toward opposite sidesof the device as hereinbefore pointed out, and, g in addition to theaforementioned upward inclination, the walls slope downwardly,

toward each other, as denoted by the numeral 5 in Fig. 1.

'i'he blades 1 are so constructed that their upright cutting edges (3are disposed in nonalining relation whereby the said blades may jreadily engage and cut away the soil at the sides of the post-hole, thetips 41 being positioned adjacent these upright cutting edges Thecutting edges 6 extend downward ob ects being made manifest herelnafteras laterally, to present cutting edges 8 the ad acent extremities of theterminal walls 2, these cutting edges 8 terminating at 5), the pointwhere the terminal walls 2 lite, somewhat abruptly, with the blunt edge21 of the blade. By referring to Fig. 3, and to 2, it will be seen thatthe terminal wall 2 unites by a somewhat abrupt curve with the wallforming the cutting edge (5, as denoted by the numeral 10, thencerising, by

a gradual slope, to the opposite side of the ade, as denoted by thenumeral 11. The inclination denoted by the numeral 3 causes the terminalwalls oi the blades to enter the soil readily, and to cause the deviceto work its way rapidly thereinto, the soil, as it is loosened by thetip 1, traveling upward along the inclined portion 3. The terminal walls2 likewise serve to prevent the soil from dropping from the grip of thedevice, when the same is drawn upward out of the post-hole.

The upper extremities of the blades 1 are flexed toward each other toform arms 12, provided with overlapping ears, a retaining member 17being passed transversely through the ears and through the lowerextremity of a shank 1-1 which is introduced between the arms 12. themember 17 forming a pivotal union between the blades and the shank. Theshank 14 may be surmounted by a transverse handle 15, assembled with theshank by means of a clip 16, or in any other suitable manner. Aretaining member 18, in the present instance shown in the form of abolt, is passed transversely through the upper ex- .remities ot' thearms 12 and through the portion of the shank l-l, which is between them,the said bolt being provided with a nut to The terminal walls 2 of the Iengage one of the arms 12, the bolt and nut constituting a clampingmeans for holding the blades in position. Disposed between the upperextremities of the arms 12 and the shank 14 are adjusting blocks 19,which, in the present instance, take the form of a wedgeshaped loop,denoted by the numeral 20, and illustrated most clearly in Fig. e'i.Through these loops 20 the retaining member 18 is passed, and it isobvious that, by loosening the nut which is carried by the retainingmember, the members 20 may be adjusted vertically, to space-the lowerextremities of the blades 1 apart, to accommodate soils of ditierenttenacities, and to regulate the cutting eti'ect of the blades when thesame are rotated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire toprotect, by Letters Patent, is

1. A device of the class described comprising a shank; cooperatingblades pivoted intermediate their ends to the shank; and adjustingblocks arranged to be inserted between the upper extremities of theblades and the shank, the blades being bent to inclose the blockstransversely.

2. A device of the class described comprising a shank; cooperatingblades pivoted intermediate their ends to the shank; and wedges arrangedto be inserted upon the exterior of the shank between the upper ends ofthe blades and the shank, the blades being bent to inclose the wedges.

3. A device of the class described comprising a shank; cooperatingblades pivoted intermediate their ends upon the shank; a retainingmember extending transversely through the shank and the upper ends ofthe blades; and wedge-shaped loops to inclose the retaining member andto slide longitudinally thereon, the said loops being disposed betweenthe upper extremities of the blades and the shank.

i. A device of the class described compris ing a shank; cooperatingblades pivoted intermediate their ends upon the shank; separatelymanipulable wedge-shaped loops interposed between the upper extremitiesof the blades and the shank; and clamping means mounted in the bladesand in the shank upon which the loops are arranged to slide.

5. A device of the class described comprising a shank; cooperatingblades pivoted intermediate their ends upon the shank; a clamping memberextending through the upper extremities of the blades and the shank; andslotted wedges slidably mounted upon the clamping member between theblades and the shank.

6. A device of the class described comprising a shank; cooperatingblades pivoted intermediate their ends upon the shank; a clamping memberextending through the up per extremities of the blades and the shank;and slotted wedges slidably mounted upon the clamping member between theblades and the shank, the wedges being depressible to move the lowerextremities of the blades toard each other.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto altixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE M. FENN. lVitnesses H. K. JENNINGS, ESTELLA S. KLArss.

